Are you tired of getting telemarketing calls? They may seem endless, but there's a way to opt out: The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is the official (and free) central register to use to opt out of unsolicited sales or marketing calls. After you sign up there, all organizations (including charities and political groups) will be legally obligated not to call you, unless you give them further consent to do so.

The TPS is the only such register that is enforced by law in the UK. It is regulated by Ofcom and enforced by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). It is run by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).

Community Q&A

Tips

Organizations with which you have a prior relationship (for example, as a customer or donor), will be entitled to call you even if your number is registered on TPS, assuming you gave them consent at some point in your dealings with them. To avoid this, you need to tell them specifically that you object to them calling you for marketing purposes.

It's possible to sign up on the TPS with a mobile telephone number, but doing so won't prevent the receipt of marketing SMS (text) messages.To stop receiving those messages, send an 'opt-out' request to the sender/company directly.

It is a legal requirement for telemarketers not to call a TPS subscribed number after 28 days, but you should start noticing a gradual decline from registration.

Warnings

Be wary of people calling you claiming to be from the Telephone Preference Service asking for payment to complete your registration. TPS is a FREE service.

TPS registration is only focused on marketing calls; even if you sign up on the TPS list, organizations will still be allowed to call you for marketing research purposes.